You
don't necessarily have to be that good to make the NCAA Tournament.
You just need to peak (or get lucky) at the right time. It also
doesn't help to play in a weak conference. The following is a
list of the most unlikely Conference Tournament champions, and not
surprisingly they are also some of the weakest NCAA Tournament teams ever.

Most Unlikely Confe

rence
Tournament Champions of Past 20 Years

1. 1999 Florida A&M:
started season 1-13, finished regular season 8-18, RPI 263, strength of
schedule: 305, final record: 12-19, lost to Duke 99-58 in 1st
round of NCAA tournament

8. 2003 Texas Southern:
started season 13-12, then won last 5 games against teams without an RPI in
the top-200, RPI: 217, final record: 18-13, lost play-in game to North
Carolina-Asheville (whose final record was 15-17) 92-84 in OT

9. 1996 Central Florida:
finished with an 11-19 record, 6-10 in the Atlantic Sun, won just 3 home
games all season, lost to UMASS 92-70 in 1st round of NCAA
tournament.

10. 1998 Nicholls State:
started season 2-8, strength of schedule: 241, final record: 19-10, lost to
Arizona 99-60 in 1st round of NCAA tournament